What Was Our Vision:
Sixteen Scenes from Wandering in the Desert
an exhibition of new works on paper
September 1 - 29, 2008
The Philadelphia Cathedral
3723 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA
Opening Reception
Thursday September 4th 6-8 pm
The Cathedral is also open to the public Monday-Friday, 10am - 2 pm
Other viewing times available by appointment- please email me.
I will be presenting a series of new works on paper, in my first exhibition as the Philadelphia Cathedral Artist-in-Residence for 2008-09. The sixteen small works on paper will be exhibited in the main chapel of the Philadelphia Cathedral, interspersed with the historical and contemporary stained glass windows of the Cathedral.
I am the Cathedral's first Jewish Artist-in-Residence, and What Was Our Vision is a series of mixed-media works on paper that I have developed based on visual research into the belief systems of the Ancient Near East. My work is motivated by my interest in origin, identity, and place. My search for meaningful connections to the history of Judaism led me to explore the iconography and earth-based belief systems of the Ancient Near Eastern cultures that Judaism developed from. In What Was Our Vision, I synthesize invented imagery along with found iconography relating to earth, trees, water, sky, gods, and goddesses. With these images, I imagine what visions my ancient ancestors may have had as they traveled desert landscapes as nomads and cultural go-betweens.
The setting for this exhibition is an important component to the meaning of the work. By exhibiting this series of images in the Cathedral space, I hope to draw attention to the historical and spiritual connection of all faith practices, as well as to offer a vision for religious imagery that speaks to a spiritual connection between earth and body.
